1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to purse or bag hangers. More specifically, it relates to a purse or bag hanger capable of removably securing a bag to a structure, such as a post, or any vertical or horizontal surface.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Carriers of purses, handbags, and any other personal accessory having handles rarely have a suitable location for storing their bags when in public places. Those who carry bags often have to choose whether to place their bags on a tabletop, on a chair back, in their laps, or on the ground. Tabletops typically are limited in surface area, chair backs are out of sight, laps are uncomfortable, and the ground is unsanitary. In all cases, lack of a secure and reliable method for retention renders the aforementioned devices susceptible to damaging impact with surfaces, theft and soiling.
Attempts have been made to overcome these problems; however, they have obvious disadvantages. Most bag hangers, such as U.S. Pat. No. 8,371,546 B2 to Bauerly, use friction to keep the hanger set on the table or surface. These devices can easily slip off the table or surface when the bag or hanger is accidentally contacted. Additionally, these devices provide no security from potential thieves.
Other devices, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,920,369 A to Zezula, use a suspension clamp to hang a bag from a surface. Such devices are still susceptible to theft because the clamping force is released when the tension, supplied by the weight of the bag, is relieved upon lifting the bag.
Accordingly, what is needed is a bag hanging device capable of being removably secured to a surface without the possibility of becoming accidentally detached from the surface or purposefully stolen. It is also recognized that there is a need for a device that allows secure attachment to surfaces of orientations other than horizontal such as vertical walls or chair backs. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how the shortcomings of the prior art could be overcome.
All referenced publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the invention may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claimed invention should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.